Announced the upcoming state visit of President XI to France, Serbia and Hungary

By Ina Stašević from Croatia/Europe: At a regular press conference, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Lin Jian on April 29, 2024,  announced the  upcoming state visits of President Xi Jinping to France, Serbia and Hungary.

 Lin Jian pointed out that the visit will be the first trip of a Chinese president to Europe in almost five years.  They will be of vital importance to China's relations with France, Serbia, Hungary and the EU in general, and will provide a new boost to global peace and development.

The two presidents, XI Jinping and Emmanuel Macron, will hold the events in Paris.  The visit will be President Xi's second state visit to France in five years, and will take place during the 60th anniversary year of Sino-French diplomatic ties, giving the visit special significance as an important opportunity to build on past achievements and guide the future of bilateral relations.  China looks forward to cooperation with France.  Through this visit, political mutual trust, solidarity and cooperation, a comprehensive strategic partnership, with the encouragement of a healthy and stable relationship between China and the EU will be further strengthened.

 Serbia is China's first comprehensive strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe.  The two countries have a strong friendship.  In recent years, under the strategic leadership of President Xi and President Vučić, Sino-Serbian relations have experienced strong growth.  The two countries strongly support each other in matters of fundamental interest and major concern and enjoy strong political mutual trust.  The two sides have had fruitful and high-quality cooperation in the framework of the Belt and Road and close coordination in the multilateral arena.

 During the visit, President Xi will speak with President Vučić for a detailed exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest.  They will discuss the upgrading of Chinese-Serbian relations and outline the future direction of bilateral relations.  President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia will be his second visit to that country in eight years, which will mark an important milestone for the strengthening and improvement of Sino-Serbian ties.

 Hungary is an important country in Central and Eastern Europe and an important partner of China in the Belt and Road cooperation and China-CEE cooperation.  In recent years, under the strategic leadership of the leaders of the two countries, China-Hungary relations have maintained strong growth.  The two countries had close high-level exchanges, deepened mutual political trust, made fruitful and solid progress in cooperation in various fields and brought tangible benefits.  As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Hungary are focused on development efforts that focus on national interests.  Deepening traditional friendship and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation is in the mutual interest of both countries and serves the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and beyond.  The fact that President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán jointly invited President Xi Jinping to visit Hungary shows how much Hungary values ​​and looks forward to this visit.

 During the visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with President Tamás Sulyok and hold talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to have a detailed exchange of views on Sino-Hungarian relations and issues of common interest.

 This year marks the 75th anniversary of Chinese-Hungarian diplomatic ties.  This significant visit will raise bilateral relations to a new height, open a new chapter in Sino-Hungarian friendship and cooperation, give impetus to China-EU relations, and provide elements of stability and positive energy to a turbulent world.